Sacrifice
by Satu-D-2
Summary: A series of one-shots covering the sacrifices made during Dragon Ball. Will star a range of characters and different POVs, who will be tagged as they appear. Will be posted chronologically to the series, starting in Dragon Ball.


AN. So here we have a series of fics on the sacrifices in DB/Z/S. I haven't watched S yet, but I'm working my way through Z at the moment (I don't have access to K, though that would make it way quicker, I so want to watch some of these scenes in K!) and making notes of those sacrifices which I feel aren't explored enough on an emotional level. This is a fighting show and my whole attention is just on the emotional impact of their interactions, each battle an opportunity for introspection. These all follow the canon but where there is dialogue it may be a mish-mash of the Japanese, the English (remaster) and my own interpretation so if the quotes are off that's what it is.

So to start with we are in Dragon Ball in the Piccolo Daimao saga. If you're familiar with my fics then you know my favourite characters and can probably guess which sacrifice I'm focusing on first :P We start off with the death, and in this particular case go into the afterlife and the aftermath. I'll be sure to let you know which scenes will occur in which fics! Please enjoy!

* * *

 **The Dragon**

The sky was dark, roiling with heavy clouds, lit briefly with brilliant flashes of lightning. A laughing figure, hunched over seven glowing points of light, cackling as a thick column of power pulsed upwards, coiling and spreading in the thick clouds.

Beneath one sheltered column a young man lay, shivering all over, grass caught between his fingers as he clenched his fists. His eyelids wavered, trying to flutter closed as he forced them to stay open. His teeth gritted and he cast his mind out, latching onto a small familiar ki.

 _Chiaotzu, can you hear me!?_

Beneath another sheltered column the young boy jolted. He was trembling for a completely different reason, his hands gripping with panicky tightness to the column of rock.

"Tien!"

His voice was high and completely lost under the deep growling roar as the dragon unfurled itself in the sky.

 _Muten Roshi gave me a strange drug; I'm fighting to stay conscious. You have to speak our wish before he can say his. Tell the dragon to banish Piccolo Diamao from this world forever. Got it?_

Chiaotzu's lips set in a thin line and he nodded. _Yes, Tien._

The cackling green figure in the middle of the clearing leant back, spreading four-fingered hands skyward.

"I will grant one wish," the dragon said, its voice booming, the vibrations of the deep tones reverberating in Chiaotzu's chest. "Consider it carefully."

The cackling figure lowered his hands, his face tilted up to look at the dragon, and his deep raspy voice began to speak his wish.

Chiaotzu's skin was ice cold and he held his breath as he summoned up the courage to emerge from his hiding spot. Behind this column was safety, was security. Piccolo Daimao didn't know he was here. As far as the monster out there was concerned he was alone with the dragon, the only person here to stand up to him vanquished in a futile effort to capture him in the Denshi jar. The demon had no idea that there were two other people here; one incapacitated by a paralysing agent, the other frozen in place by his own fear.

No, he didn't want to be remembered like that. Didn't want to be the one who had simply stood by as the world trembled under the wish this monster would make. Tien would be so disappointed in him.

His lips tightened into a thinner line. Concentrating the smallest amount of energy he could manage he lifted his feet from the ground, desperately trying to keep silent. Fear spiralled through him, making his muscles weak and his joints tremble.

He flew out from behind the pillar, feeling tiny in the wide-open clearing, seeing the eyes of the dragon shift to him. Trying desperately to overcome his terror, a fright that was almost tangible around him, he cupped his hands around his mouth and raised his voice to a high, clear shout.

"Please make Piccolo Daimao…" The demon turned, his eyes wide, his voice cutting off mid-word, "disappear from this wor-"

Piccolo growled and extended one four-fingered hand. Chiaotzu didn't have time to see the blast; all he felt was the pain as it seemed to tear him apart. He was vaguely aware of the scream that left his body, his entire energy focused on the pain and the fear he felt. He didn't want to die. He was too young to die.

He thumped to the ground on his back, his body heavy. He managed to lift his head, to look at the monster who had murdered him, and stammered out the name of his big brother.

"T-Tien…" His head fell back and his eyes slid closed. He hadn't had the strength to add how sorry he was before his soul was torn away and his body left an empty husk.

* * *

 **AFTERLIFE**

He was floating alone in a dark void, his body weightless but undeniably there. He turned his head back and forth, desperately searching for some form of light. Finally he spotted two small points of red and felt a soaring relief. At least he wasn't alone in this darkness, this endlessness. He opened his mouth and tried to talk, but no words would come forth. He gaped like a fish for a long time, growing slowly more frustrated, before closing his mouth and raising his arms to gesture at the points. Maybe someone was there, maybe they could help him.

The dots grew larger and he realised they were eyes, gleaming in the darkness, fixed on him. When they got close to him he tried to make out the features of the face they belonged to but there was only darkness.

Pain exploded through him, the same pain he had felt so recently, and the memories soared back. He was dead. He had been murdered. Oh Kami, this couldn't be what death was. Where was the promise of heaven, the threat of hell? Where was the nothingness that some believed, the winking out of thought and feeling?

His mouth dropped open again as more red points appeared around him, sharp pain surging through his body, and his scream echoed through the void. And even as he was tormented, trapped alone in the empty hell of torture and pain, he apologised in his mind for failing in his mission, for not being brave enough, for not being able to speak fast enough. For letting down his big brother, who was now all alone in the world.

* * *

 **Aftermath**

Tien was vaguely aware of his muscles trembling, his mouth set in a thin line and his hands clenched so hard his fists felt like solid stones at the end of his arms. He wasn't sure if it was the aftereffects of the drug Master Roshi had sprayed in his face or the overwhelming grief that was coursing through him, but his body felt both as unmoving as a statue and as weak as a kitten.

He raised his fists in front of him and forced them to loosen, staring at the blood in his palms with disinterest. His fingernails, though short, had clearly punched through his calloused palms. He wiped the blood away on his pants, the slight stinging of the cuts doing nothing the clear his mind.

He had never felt such rage and horror and grief. It surged in him like the ocean, vast and immeasurable, so deep that he feared it would never end. Tears burned his eyes, but didn't form enough to streak down his cheeks.

He had already cleaned up Master Roshi's body, positioning it so his arms lay by his side, his face peaceful in death. Now he was standing over the body of his best friend. The boy was sprawled out, his arms outstretched, his surcoat crumpled and intact, no external sign showing of the blast that had ripped the life from him. His face was calm, his eyes closed, the slight slant to his mouth the only sign of the agony Tien had seen before he'd landed.

"Chiaotzu," he said, and his voice seemed hugely loud on the silent plain. He bent and carefully collected the boy's body in his arms, the weight next to nothing and yet so great that his arms trembled and his shoulders slumped. "You…you were so brave, little brother." He hugged Chiaotzu's body closer, the tears now spilling over and down his cheeks. "I'm sorry I couldn't protect you. I'm sorry you had to jump out, that I couldn't do it for you." He pressed his lips to that smooth forehead, the cold skin making the grief surge higher. "I'm…I'm so proud of you…"

He was trembling very hard now and Chiaotzu's arm slipped from his arms, dangling limply. He gently swept it back, resting it on the boy's narrow chest. He bent at snagged the small black hat and placed it onto Chiaotzu's head.

"You know you're supposed to keep your hat on…you'll catch…c-cold…"

He clenched his eyes shut, suppressing a sob with some difficulty, then walked over to where Master Roshi was lying.

"I'll avenge you, little brother. I'll master the Mafuba and destroy Piccolo Daimao once and for all. I promise." He lay Chiaotzu down next to Master Roshi, his stomach twisting at the sight of that slight frame, his small head resting on the thick grass, his hands tiny as they rested on his chest. "And if I die…then we'll be reunited…" He gently held one of Chiaotzu's small hands in his own, his long fingers wrapped tight, as he composed himself. It would be hard learning the Mafuba; he had only seen it briefly in a drugged haze and Master Roshi had been so damned quick, but he thought he would be able to perform it with a little practice. He just had to get his emotions under control before he could begin.

* * *

AN. I've got a few of these lined up. Some have been written already, some I've published before, and some are just vague ideas in my head. I find myself caught in a state of some creative break and I get phrases popping into my head all the time which I have to write down immediately in case I forget them. Anyway, if this was something you enjoyed reading let me know. And feel free to suggest the sacrifices you'd like to see. It's a fair bet I'll do the ones with Tien and Chiaotzu for sure, but I've got some other's lined up and am happy to take suggestions on those that people want! It'll be chronological too, so if you suggest something from the Buu saga then it'll be a while before I get to it :) Thanks and hope you enjoyed!


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